REDefining You

One week ago today a group of young women spent a weekend REDefining their realities.

For the past two years I have been "diving into" life with these extraordinary young women. I have the privilege and the honor to walk along side them in the joyous and the fearful, the giggly and the tearful, the exciting engagements and the sorrowful goodbyes to first loves. We simply live life weekly together as women and we try to live it authentically. 

I challenged them at our get-away-from-stressed-out-college-life retreat this past weekend to REDefine You. I challenged them to choose one word that has attached itself, that has permeated their mind and identity, a word that has defined their past, a word that has chained their hearts, wounded their souls, a word, an identity, that needs to be REDefined.

Here are just a few of the real, genuine, bona fide, authentic truths of their brave hearts: 

We spend our lives defining ourselves in the negative. We are consumed by shame and guilt from our past, insecurity of the present, and fear of the future. So much of who we are is defined by these iron words. Our lives, our actions, our behavior is dictated by these thoughts, fears, and uncertainties. 

For me the majority of my life was defined by the notion that I was simply invisible. The reverberateing message I received from the world, from peers, from friends, from family was second-born, second-loved, second-best, nothing important, looked over, third-wheel, fifth-wheel, unwanted, not needed. Who I was was simply no one. No one worthy of love or attention. I was just invisible. 

The up front and honest truth is that all of these words are not THE TRUTH. They are lies that we hold on to, lies that we claim as true. Lies, iron claims that must be utterly abolished. Our identities are so weaved into the un-truths that we must first REDefine our reality. We must first replace that lie with the ultimate truth and we must claim it that day, this day, and everyday.

It must however be a truth that is defined not by the world, our friends, our families, or even ourselves. It must be a truth, a wonderful claim, that Jesus defines. It is His truth that changes, it is His claim over our hearts that transform our identities of shame, of guilt, of insecurity, of uncertainty into something more beautiful, something more intimate, something more powerful than we could ever imagine. It is that resounding truth that His eyes of liquid love see when He looks upon us.

These are the unchaining, unchanging truths that He REDefined within these beautiful young women: 

 Insecure to CONFIDENT

Acceptance to UNCONDITIONAL Love

 Negative to TRUE

Isolation to FULFILLMENT

Lost to PURSUED

Uncertainty to PEACE

Disappointed to JOY & Blessed

 Fearfully Searching To Still Searching BUT With Peace of Mind

Bound By Legalism To FREE In Christ 

 Unaccepted to LOVED

LOST To Heading For A PERFECT Destination

 Self-Destructive To SAVED

 Insufficient To PEACE

 Fearful To FAITHFUL

I have lived the majority of my life held down by the notion that I just don't matter. That who I am is wrong, messed up, not enough, or not wanted. My REDefining truth is the profound idea that Jesus just sees me.

Jesus sees everything, my past, my present, my future. His eyes of abounding love simply see me in all my authenticity and He can't help but smile for He made it that way.

What lie are you claiming that simply isn't true? What truth is He whispering to you that He hopes you might claim too? Let go and release. Let yourself be REDefined by Him.

-AUTHENTICALLY ME